Conservative Dave Batters stands in the House of Commons Thursday and explains a new Bill to keep dangerous criminals in prison for longer.

 

Our local Member of Parliament Dave Batters rose in the House of Commons Thursday and delivered a 20-minute speech on a new Bill aimed at protecting Canadians.

Batters was talking about Bill C-27, an act which amends the Criminal Code to make it tougher for dangerous offenders to get out of jail. "Under our new Conservative government, dangerous sexual offenders like Peter Whitmore won't get out of prison until they can demonstrate they are no longer a threat to the community."

Whitmore is the man accused of abducting and sexually assaulting two boys this past summer in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Batters explains the new Bill puts the onus on the offender to prove why they should be released. "Under our Bill, a dangerous offender that is found guilty for a third time of a designated violent of sexual offence must prove that he or she should not be declared a dangerous offender... and those that fail to do so will be subject to an indeterminate jail sentence with no eligibility for seven years."

Batters says Bill C-27 has the support of an entire country but the Liberals and NDP don't completely support it. He says the Liberals are denouncing the bill while the NDP has called it "overkill".